Mykhailo Mudryk has the raw talent to win the Ballon d’Or in the future if he knuckles down at Chelsea, according to one of his international team-mates.
Mudryk has struggled for consistency since joining Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 for a fee which could reach £87million. Chelsea gazumped Arsenal to land the winger, believing they had signed one of the best players in the world, but he’s yet to provide much of a return on that investment.
His record of seven goals and five assists in 62 appearances tells the story of a player who has failed to make an impact in the final third. The fact Mudryk has played under five different managers – including interim appointments Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard – in that time certainly hasn’t helped and there is hope that Enzo Maresca can get the best out of him.
Mudryk has a lot of competition for places on the wing at Chelsea, who signed Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Jadon Sancho in the summer transfer window. But the opinion of his former Shakhtar and current Ukraine team-mate Georgiy Sudakov should encourage Chelsea fans that the best is still to come from Mudryk.
“Mykhailo is an incredible player, he has no upper limit and he can win the Ballon d’Or with his qualities,” Sudakov told The Guardian in August. “But everything depends only on him. I believe he will be able to show his best qualities. Ukraine is an incredibly talented country and he is a great example for us to follow.”
Mudryk has a lot to prove to Maresca, who openly criticised him after withdrawing him at half-time during the 6-2 thrashing of Wolves, in which fellow winger Noni Madueke scored a hat-trick. Asked why Mudryk was substituted at half-time, the Chelsea boss replied bluntly: “Because I was not happy.
“In some moments we can manage some situations better. He was working hard off the ball but on the ball, I expect a bit more quality from Misha. He had some good moments today but the reason why was to change it and give Pedro some minutes.”
The half-time substitution came after another underwhelming performance in the first league of Chelsea’s Europa Conference League play-off against Servette. And with Madueke, Neto, Felix, Sancho, Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer to choose from, Maresca could easily leave Mudryk out of the side in the coming weeks.
The £54m arrival of Neto, in particular, is a warning sign for Mudryk, with ex-Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley giving a brutal assessment of the two to ESPN after the Wolves win. “Mykhailo Mudryk is just going to be a waste of time, as a starter,” he stated. “Pedro Neto will play there. He came on there, but he will play. Mudryk is just not consistent enough.”
